The invention relates to a fabric which exhibits a puffed design effect and method for the same. More particularly, the invention relates to the provision of a lightweight puffed embroidered design fabric and method by which a multitude of different designs may be created on fabrics by forming puffed design elements in a controlled manner according to prescribed embroidered patterns. The puffed embroidered fabric designs are relatively unlimited in their variety, and according to the fabric and method of the present invention, may be made on a commercial basis in large quantities.
Heretofore, fabric designs have been created which are commonly referred to as three-dimensional, or puckered, fabric designs. The three-dimensional or puckered effect in the fabric design may be accomplished in a number of ways. For example, single ply fabric may be woven or knitted with areas of the fabric provided with yarns that are more shrinkable than the remaining yarns in desired areas. The shrinkable yarns are subjected to shrinkage by either hot washing, chemical, or other treatment, causing a swelled area in the fabric and a patterned effect such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,738,566 and 3,071,165.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,610 discloses a patterned puckered fabric achieved by weaving two plies of fabric together with an elastic yarn. The elastic yarn which joins the two plies of fabric together is shrunk creating puckering at the outer layer.
Puckered or three-dimensional design fabrics have also been formed by simultaneously weaving two plies, and interweaving at spaced intervals, one of the plies, which may be shrunk, with the other ply which is not shrinkable. When the shrinkable ply shrinks, small wrinkles or puckers will form in the unshrinkable layer as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 2,231,388. Puckered two-ply fabrics have also been made in which puckering of the fabric is obtained by selecting shrinking of certain of the threads of the woven two-ply fabric rather than shrinking one ply and not shrinking the other as described above. Such a fabric is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,401,829 wherein shrinkable warp or weft threads are interwoven between two fabric plies to form small puckers. However, the design possibilities in such fabrics are very limited due to the fact that the puckering pattern is established by interweaving two plies at selected points. Thus the designs are limited by the nature of the weaving process itself, and also by the fact that only certain types of designs with little or no variations may be created in this method. The creating of designs by weaving and interweaving two plies is a very time consuming and expensive process which is not commercially attractive. Moreover, the weight of the fabric produced by interweaving two plies results in fabric which has only very limited use and may not be used where a lightweight puckered fabric may be needed. The two-ply fabrics are typically dried on a tenter frame under tension which may take out shrinkage, particularly in the crosswise dimension of the fabric owing to the tensioning of the fabric between the tenter chains. Thus the puckered pattern is not easily varied or determined by the weaving or the drying of the two-ply fabric in the prior art methods and fabrics.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,489 discloses a three-dimensional patterned fabric in which an outer layer is made from an elastic material and sewn onto a base layer. The two fabrics are then stretched and a design pattern is stitched to the stretched panels. Afterwards, the tension is released causing the stretched panel to contract and exhibit a pucker in the outer fabric layer. The ornamental fabric is mainly suitable for women's articles of clothing, namely swimsuits in which elastic panels are desired.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method in which a wide variety of puffed designs may be created in a lightweight fabric.
Another object of the invention is to provide a puffed embroidered design fabric and method wherein a wide variety of embroidered designs can be created in the face of fabric which exhibit puffed design elements according to a prescribed well-controlled pattern.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a puffed embroidered design fabric and method wherein a pattern of puffed elements is created in the embroidered design and the resultant fabric is lightweight and suitable for wearing apparel and other lightweight fabric applications.
Another object of the invention is to provide a puffed embroidered fabric and method which are well adapted to the production of a multitude of different designs on a commercial basis.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a puffed embroidered design fabric and method wherein an embroidered pattern is stitched into a front fabric and a lightweight cotton gauze back fabric uniting the fabrics by interlocked embroidery stitches which control formation of puffed design elements in the embroidered pattern upon washing and drying of the fabric.